Grasberger succeeds David Everitt, who has been serving as interim chief executive officer since February 28, 2014. Everitt will continue as a member of the board of directors and has been elected to succeed Henry Knueppel as non-executive chairman, effective immediately. Knueppel will continue to serve on the board as an independent director.

"Since Nick's appointment to the role of chief operating officer in April, he and Dave have been working closely to ensure a seamless leadership transition, which has allowed us to complete our CEO succession as planned," said Knueppel. "The board has been very pleased with Nick's rapid assumption of his new responsibilities and his success in driving Harsco's transformation, of which he has been a principal architect. At the same time, Dave's first-hand perspectives and insights from his tenure as interim CEO will be highly valuable to the board and we are grateful that he has agreed to assume the chairman role."

Grasberger joined Harsco in April 2013 as senior vice president and chief financial officer and was appointed president and chief operating oficer on April 8, 2014. The company is continuing its search for a permanent CFO and Grasberger will continue to be designated as the company's principal financial officer pending the successful conclusion of this process.

Everitt has served as a member of the Harsco board since 2010. He completed a 37-year career with Deere & Company in 2012, where he served as co-leader of Deere's largest operating group, the Agriculture and Turf Division. Everitt is also a member of the board of directors of Brunswick Corporation and Agrium Inc., where he serves on the Audit Committee and is a member of the board of directors and the Audit Committee of the National Business Aviation Association.